“Oh, yes, I remember Roxana well. She used
to bully me outrageously.” He opened the
letter and started to read slowly, just as Kit suddenly
remembered Cousin Roxy’s remarks on Cassius Cato
Peabody. But there was no turning back now.
Straight through to the end he read, and several deep
chuckles broke the silence, real chuckles of delight,
such as Kit had never heard from the Dean. When
he had finished, he handed it back to her.

“Perfectly true, my dear,” he said.
“I can quite see why you feel that you are needed.
You had better take your midwinter examinations, and
prepare to return home about Christmas. In all
likelihood your Aunt Daphne and I will accompany you.”

CHAPTER XXI

THE CIRCLE OF RA

The next thing was to break the news gently and convincingly
to the family. Kit figured it out from all sides,
and finally decided to walk right up to the horns
of the dilemma in a fearless attack. Writing back
a long, chatty letter to the Mother Bird, she simply
tacked on the postscript:

“Don’t be at all surprised to see me arrive
with the other Christmas packages, and have a fire
laid in the guest room.”

At first she had thought only the Dean would accompany
her, but when Miss Daphne heard of the plan, she declared
she would not be left out of it.

“Why, brother, I haven’t seen any of the
folks down east in years and years, and it would hearten
me up wonderfully to visit them. I think I’d
like to be with Roxy as much as possible, because we
were girl friends together.”

Whether it was the prospect of going home or the longing
to leave a good record behind her, no one could say,
not even Kit herself, but she took her midwinter examinations
with full speed up and colors flying, as Billie would
say.

The girls took her coming departure with many objections,
but they proceeded to give her various send-offs.
Charity and Anne decided on a formal tea, up in the
former’s room, but the solemnity of the occasion
was banished when Peggy rose to read some farewell
poesy, concocted by herself and the “Jinx.”

“She hoped to be the
hope of Hope
Alas, how
soon she flew,
To bleak New England’s
rock-ribbed hills,
Ere she
her Virgil knew.”

“And we her comrades
tried and true,
No laurel
crowns may weave.
The magic circle broken
is,
For Kathleen
fair we grieve.”

After which, Amy led a procession of solemn-visaged,
sombre-clad academic maidens, who approached the divan
where Kit sat, and each presented her with some sage
advice, in couplets. Amy explained later that
she got the idea from Sargent’s “Gifts
of the Hours.”

“Although, if it had been summer time, we would
have tried to make it more like Tennyson’s ‘Princess,’
but I think this carries the idea all right.
Norma wrote the couplets, and they almost have a prophetic
note. Don’t you think so, Kit?”